So as the title says my 92 gets hot when the weather itself is hot out and the air is on.

I've noticed it mainly around town and when I am idling. When the weather is cooler it doesn't peak over where I think the temp guage is supposed to be.


Please Help!!!

 

How hot does it get?

 

It will get up to 220* and then after that I shut off the air and it starts to cool down slowly if I am around town. If I am on the freeway it doesn't get hot in hot weather so i'm not sure what is going on.

 

220 isnt too hot for these cars. It's normal up till about 240. Though high, GM designed them to run hot for emmissions reasons.

 

So I would potentially be okay with it running hot?

The car has a 160* thermostat in it though.

I'm wondering maybe if my radiator cap has gone bad too since I believe it is the original cap. How could I test it?

 

The cooler t-stat will open sooner but will not in itself help it to run cooler. The next step toward cooler operation is to replace the OE fan switch with either a 185 or 200 deg switch. That alone should improve your operation temps, along with a good cooling system flush and refill. Yes, always a good idea to replace the radiator cap at the same time.

 

So could I be actually running hotter with a cooler thermostat? Would it be better to switch back to the 195 thermo?

And from what I have noticed is the fan turns on when the ignition is in the run positon. Also I believe the fan stays on all the time now. I replaced the fan motor recently and it works very well.


I just get spooked when I see the temp guage start to move. Where could I get the fan switch and where is it located?

 

The cooler t-stat will open sooner, no problem with that except that the motor wont warm up as soon, same effect as having the fan run all of the time. This will in theory, delay closed loop operation and in some cases set off the check engine light. It happened to my RS all of the time (ask me for the solution). So, the choice is up to you t-stat wise.

The fan shouldnt turn on with the ignition key. It's either been re-wired or possibly the relay is malfunctioning or the fan switch wire is grounded? Since you've owned it, has it always done that? Or, just since you replaced the fan motor? The fan should only come on when the A/C is turned on or it reaches the fan switch temp.

The fan switch is located between the #6 and #8 cylinders, has a single wire to it (possibly a green wire). You can order cooler fan switches from Summit Racing. PM me if you'd like more suggestions.

Good luck

 

Okay I think I will stick with the 160 thermo.

And it has only done it since I have owned it. I think I need to look into why it does this. Would that be a problem as to why she would get hot?

 

What is the temperature and humidity outside in Imperial Beach California?

Have to remember that the cooler your air conditioning blows inside the car, the hotter the condenser is where your A/C is shedding the heat. The condenser is right in front of your radiator. In my case, since I get 30° A/C temperatures being blown into the car, I'm getting an immense amount of heat being put into the condenser that has to be cooled off. Even with both of my fans running and the thermostat open, it's a struggle during the humid hot temperatures outside. Particularly when combined with stop and go traffic. I've also noticed that humidity plays more of a factor in cooling temps than hot temperatures.

A normally functioning R134a system won't have the ice cold temps I deal with. So it shouldn't have as hard a time keeping the coolant temperatures down when the A/C is on. But it will still have a harder time than normal.

I highly recommend getting an aftermarket fan switch. I use the on 200°/off 185° Hypertech switch myself. I find their other switch, the 176/166 combo to be too low. There are other companies that make them. But they all do the same thing.

Running the A/C in city traffic particularly while not moving will cause the coolant temp to rise. You're relying solely on the radiator fan to cool off both your radiator and the condenser.

Take a look between the condenser and the radiator sometime. Leaves and twigs have a way of sneaking in there. Probably a bit of dirt gathered up in there too.

From the sounds of things you don't have anything to worry about. Your car isn't overheating. It's just running warmer than usual with the A/C on (which is to be expected). I get 10-15° warmer coolant temps on so so Texas days and 30-35° warmer temps on hot days.

 

Flush & refill with new coolant and add one bottle of ROYAL PURPLE ICE. I did this and it dropped my engine temp with the A/C by 10deg, so the stuff works in my opinion.